Under the second-year implementation of the Regional Capacity Building Network (RECAB), the SEAFDEC Secretariat and SEAFDEC Aquaculture Department (AQD) co-organized the “Regional Training Course on Advanced Aquaculture Technologies for Commercially Important Commodities in Southeast Asia” from 9 to 26 October 2023 at AQD in Tigbauan Main Station, Iloilo, Philippines. A total of 20 trainees from the ASEAN Member States (AMSs), namely: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam participated in the Training to enhance their knowledge and skills on various aspects of aquaculture i.e. biology, broodstock management, hatchery and breeding technology, nutrition, feeding, disease management, biosecurity measures and protocols, food safety of aquaculture products, and effects of climate change. The aquaculture technologies developed by AQD on several economically important aquatic species including marine fishes, mangrove crab, sandfish, giant freshwater prawn, and tilapia will be imparted to the Trainees through lectures, hands-on learning, and field visits to local aquaculture operations.

The RECAB program covers a series of intensive technical training courses provided by SEAFDEC Departments to enhance the capacity of relevant fisheries officers from the AMSs as well as strengthen regional cooperation and network among the AMSs on various disciplines of fisheries and aquaculture. The RECAB is a part of the project “Assistance for Capacity Development in the Region to Address International Fisheries-related Issues” funded by the Government of Japan through the Japanese Trust Fund.

Source: http://www.seafdec.org/2nd-regional-capacity-building-network-recab-on-aquaculture-launched/

This two-week comprehensive operation underscores the unwavering commitment from Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA), Members, Pacific QUADs and partners to safeguard the invaluable marine resources of Pacific Island nations and Western Central Pacific Ocean. Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing activities pose a significant threat to the economic stability and food security of Pacific Island nations, undermining the efforts made toward sustainable fisheries management.

Fifteen PIC Members participated (Cook Islands, Fiji, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Kiribati, Nauru, Nuie, Palau, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Nauru, Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI), Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu, ) alongside assets and personnel from the Pacific Quadrilateral Defense Coordination Group (Pacific QUADs, namely Australia, France, New Zealand and the United States).Operation Kurukuru 2023 (OPKK23) was conducted in the combined area of the 15 participating Members’ Economic Exclusion Zones (EEZ’s) and the adjacent high seas pockets in an area of operation (AO) approximately 21.3 million square kilometres which is over three times the land mass of Australia.

Source: https://www.ffa.int/2023/11/operation-kurukuru-joint-forces-combat-iuu-fishing-to-secure-sustainable-fisheries-future/

There will be an agreement on the revised Western Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) Tropical Tuna Measure when the Commission meets in Rarotonga, Cook Islands in December.

WCPFC executive director Rhea Moss-Christian revealed this to RNZ Pacific in an interview on Tuesday. Speaking from Ponphei in the Marshall Islands, Moss-Christian said this was something members have been discussing in the past months, following the initial decision taken in Vietnam.

"With respect to the tuna measure, I would say that across the membership, the general view is that there will be agreement on a revised measure," she said. "It will change and everybody is looking at those fishing opportunities. For purse seine fisheries, the number of days that are available to fish on the high seas." And then in the longline fishery, the number of the amount of catch, the catch quarters for flag states. So those are the two main pieces of this measure. "And my sense is that the Commission members fully expect to be able to make changes and agree to those changes in December. "Pacific countries that are members of the WCPFC include Australia, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. The participating territories include American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, French Polynesia, Guam, New Caledonia, Tokelau, Wallis and Futuna.

Source: https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/501523/revised-tuna-measure-on-the-way-tuna-commission